BROOKE McNEELY Northwest Arkansas Times Arkansas junior forward Michael Washington (00) is fouled by Oklahoma sophomore guard Cade Davis during the Hogs' 96-88 win Dec. 30, 2008, in Bud Walton Arena. The Razorbacks host Texas today at 8:05 p.m.

John Pelphrey applauds the Razorbacks' fan fervor more incessantly than Barack Obama campaigned for change.

Yet much as Arkansas' coach applauds the fans' unchanging devotion, it doesn't change the likelihood even that Arkansas aura they've rooted into Walton Arena can't be changed into a loss to the Texas Longhorns tonight.

Nationally seventh-ranked Texas, 11-2 and coached by Rick Barnes, visits Pelphrey's young and surprising Razorbacks, 11-1, in an 8:05 p.m. game televised nationally by ESPN2.

"Where Texas is right now in their program," Pelphrey said, "they can take this show on the road and they can win. They have won at Wisconsin in a very, very difficult environment. So it's the biggest challenge of the year."

The Longhorns also won against Villanova in the Jimmy V. Classic in New York, driving distance from Villanova's Philadelphia campus and won at home over UCLA.

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Well, some might say with tonight's game finishing Arkansas' nonconference schedule before Saturday's start to the SEC, the Hogs already have faced their biggest nonconference challenge of the year and won. They upset then fourth-ranked, now sixth-ranked, Oklahoma, 96-88 last Tuesday at Walton Arena.

Pelphrey does not concur.

"I think this is a different animal," Pelphrey said. "And no disrespect to Oklahoma, because they too after they go through a very rigorous conference schedule can be ready to go to a Final Four and compete for a national championship. In my personal opinion, I just think Texas is deeper, there's more of them up front, they're longer."

OU power forward Blake Griffin has been the most pumped for the Wooden Award as college basketball's outstanding player, but 6-7 Longhorn forward Damion James, 14.4 points and 8.9 rebounds, and 5-11 guard A.J. Abrams, Texas' leading scorer averaging 19.0 points, were on those preseason All-Everything lists, too. Last year they helped pace Texas to 31-7, the NCAA Elite Eight and a Big 12 co-championship.

Forward Gary Johnson, 6-6, averages 10.5 points/6.5 boards off the Texas bench and may start tonight if 6-10 Connor Atchley, teaming with 6-10, 298-pound behemoth Dexter Pittman as twin towers, still ails. Atchley required 30 stitches to repair a lacerated tongue in last Friday's 78-43 rout of Appalachian State. He is deemed questionable tonight.

Pittman, 21 points/11 boards, and Johnson, 16 points/9 boards, easily picked up Atchley's slack against Appalachian State.

"Abrams is the scorer," Pelphrey said. "James is obviously a next-level small forward. He can fly around and do a bunch of different things in terms of posting up, offensive rebounding, shooting with range, driving the ball. The Johnson kid is just getting better and better, and the development of Pittman, he brings another dimension to their team. Atchley stretches the defense. And there's more guys. That's not all of them."

Talking Texas conjures the traditional underdog strategy of playing conservative and just try and eke late into the game with a chance.

That's not how Pelphrey played it against OU and vows that's not how he'll play it against UT.

"Obviously, our style, we want to try to attack them both offensively and defensively," Pelphrey said. "The best possession we can have is to get fouled and get to the free throw line. From a defensive side of it, we want to try to do the same thing, extend our defense into the backcourt and try to limit Abrams' 3-point shots. Then I think rebounding is going to be a huge key in this game. If we let them play volleyball with it, they're almost unstoppable."

Barnes counters that Arkansas has played with a young team's zeal but a surprising savvy reflecting in the 11-1 record.

Four of Arkansas' starters, forward Michael Washington and guards Courtney Fortson, Stefan Welsh and Rotnei Clarke, average between 12.7 and 17.4 points. Washington, Arkansas' 17.4 scoring leader, averages a double-double 10.4 rebounds, while Fortson, 15.3 points, averages 7.3 assists.

"I guess you would say right now they are probably the biggest surprise of any team in the Southeastern Conference," Barnes said. "They run, they shoot the three, and they get out and press. They have a great home court, a great following and I think their style is very conducive to getting the crowd into the game."

From their old Southwest Conference days, with Eddie and Abe when Eddie Sutton coached Arkansas and the late Abe Lemons coached Texas, and then Strollin' Nolan Richardson (Texas' name for him as Richardson strolled off the Erwin Center court during a game) coaching Arkansas versus "Sweet Tom" Penders (Nolan's nickname for the former Texas coach), every Arkansas-Texas crowd got into every Arkansas-Texas game.

Expect fiery coaches Pelphrey and Barnes and their fiery teams to fan the old flames tonight.